Important Cumbria Way route welcomes special visitors
Published on 30 June 2008
Volunteers from The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) northwest -grants team will swap pens for steel-capped boots when they begin upland path repair work on a popular Fix the Fells route. They will work on the Stake Pass at Great Langdale, also part of the Cumbria Way long distance route.
The eight volunteers will be staying in the Lake District for three days from 2 July, at The National Trust, Great Langdale Campsite. During their stay, the team will be working with The National Trust path teams.
Stake Pass is a busy route, as it forms part of the Cumbria Way going over the Langdale Pikes to Borrowdale. Due to its popularity, many areas are now becoming eroded.
Fix the Fells is a partnership that works together to prevent further erosion of upland paths, through work carried out on them by contactors, staff and a large volunteer force. It is run by the Lake District National Park Authority, The National Trust and Natural England - and is further supported and funded by Friends of the Lake District, The Tourism and Conservation Partnership and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Fix the Fells is a five-year programme, which needs to raise £3 million to pay for upland path repair - £2.5 million was raised under the previous project that successfully repaired 102 Lake District upland paths, with 74 still in desperate need of care.
John Atkinson, The National Trust project manager for Fix the Fells said: “I am delighted that The Heritage Lottery Fund NW grants team are joining us to do some voluntary work. Stake Pass is one of the main ancient arterial routes within the Lakes. Previously a packhorse route, it comprises many zigzags as it climbs the hill, which leads people to short cut and therefore cause unnecessary erosion. We aim to reinstate the original route as much as possible, repairing the scaring and making the shortcuts less noticeable.
“The Heritage Lottery Fund provides two thirds of our funding for the Fix the Fells project, so their support is crucial to maintain the excellent work that has been done and to ensure that the Lake District remains one of the most beautiful places in the world.”
Samantha Goody, Heritage Lottery Fund Communication Account Manager said: “Our team is excited to have this opportunity to come and do some voluntary, ‘hands on’ - upland path repair work. Our team is familiar with the Fix the Fells project and we thought, as part of our team away days, it would be marvellous to not only see some path restoration work in action, but to also take part in the work that goes on, by joining The National Trust path team for the day. Voluntary work is hugely important to the success of the Fix the Fells project, but funding of the project has equal importance. For every donation made to Fix the Fells, the Heritage Lottery Fund will triple the donation.”
Richard Fox, Lake District National Park Authority project manager for Fix the Fells said: “Stake Pass is a well-used route, providing access from Great Langdale to Borrowdale. The number of people climbing it causes increasing erosion problems, so we are very grateful to the HLF northwest team, for not only providing the funding, but also for taking the trouble to come and see what we are doing…and to try some path restoration work for themselves.”
